MYTH! If your home is damaged as a result of an earthquake and you do not have earthquake coverage, your homeowners insurance will not cover any damage.

Many believe that an earthquake will never affect them and if it does, their homeowners insurance will cover the damage. For our area, both are dangerously false. More than a million earthquakes occur every year throughout the world, according to the Center for Earthquake Research and Information. While it's nearly impossible to predict where the next quake will hit, homeowners can get a rough idea of their risk by using seismic hazard maps. Did you know our area lies in a major hazard area called the New Madrid Seismic Zone?

For homeowners near the New Madrid fault line, it is likely not a matter of "if" an earthquake will affect you, but rather "when." With many insurance companies sharply increasing their earthquake coverage premiums and others dropping the coverage entirely, many homeowners believe that they can no longer afford the coverage. As a homeowner, you must also ask yourself, can you afford not to have coverage in the event of an earthquake?

Homeowners cite recent premium increases of up to 29% annually, for up to five years, to maintain their coverage. It is important to note that such premium hikes are not industry wide and that cost-effective options for maintaining this vital coverage are still very much available. The same is true if your insurance company has elected to drop this coverage entirely. For more information or to request a proposal, simply call our offices at 800.599.8621.

Peel & Holland’s former office on the court square was one of five buildings lost as a result of the July 2014 fire. We unveiled our acquisition of all five properties affected by the fire and our plans for construction last June, and have officially moved back home.

For the past three years, our Murray team has assumed temporary space at Northepoint Office Complex as we evaluated options for permanent space to meet our long-term needs. Ultimately, we saw the move back downtown as an opportunity to live by one of our core values—being trusted to reinvest in our communities. Our team remained at Northepoint through the duration of the new location’s construction and has now made the transition back to 118 South 5th Street.

Our new building is larger than the one lost in the fire and includes space for our growing team. President, Roy Riley says the need to expand is an exciting indication for both the future of downtown Murray and our organization. “We’ve welcomed five new team members so far in 2017, three of which are Murray State University students participating in our internship program and all five reside in Murray,” said Riley.

As the team continues to settle in their new location, we want to remind clients that 118 South 5th Street is where we can be found. An Open House for clients and community members is scheduled for Tuesday, April 11.

Is your team interested in joining us in our new facility? The new Peel & Holland location includes 2,500 square feet of leased space. For questions or to learn more about this office space, please contact Peel & Holland’s Senior Vice President, Keith Riley, at kriley@peelholland.com or 270.527.6103.